Pakistan leads India 3-2 in finals.
The selectors have also put Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz on standby to cover for any player who fails pre-tour COVID-19 Testing scheduled later this month.
Pakistan have dropped out-of-sorts pace bowler Mohammad Amir from their 17-man squad for next month's two-Test series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates, with left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz earning a recall.
The trio will replace Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan and Abid Ali after selectors spoke with skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and coach Mickey Arthur following Pakistan's 4-0 defeat by England in their recent ODI series.
Arthur described coaching the Pakistan team as a fulfilling period of his career.
Shoaib Malik hit his first century in six years to help Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in the first One-dayer by 41 runs in Lahore on Tuesday, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The body of a junior commissioned officer was retrieved from a stream in the Poshana area of Surankote late Saturday evening, while the body of a second soldier was found this morning as the water level started receding in the district.
All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme took six for 41 in the best haul for a New Zealand cricketer on debut as the hosts dismissed Pakistan for 133 before tea on the second day of the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. The 30-year-old seamer, a surprise selection in the squad, also became the eighth New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul on debut. New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval, who is also on debut, will begin New Zealand's reply after tea was taken early.
The ministry of home affairs on Wednesday issued a fresh set of guidelines to let migrant workers, students, tourists and pilgrims stranded in different parts of the country to get back home.
Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in the first Test at Lord's on Sunday.
Images from Sunday's World Cup match between Pakistan and South Africa, at Lord's.
Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan Babar Azam, who is a big fan of Virat Kohli, should learn to play like his "idol" and convert good starts into big knocks by adapting to match situations the way the Indian captain does.
Moeen Ali made a superb century to lift England to 328 all out after Pakistan had taken four early wickets on the first day of the final Test at The Oval on Thursday.
Azhar was named Test captain this month in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose spot as wicketkeeper has been taken by Mohammad Rizwan.
Sri Lanka trounced top-ranked Pakistan 3-0 after a 13-run victory in the third and final Twenty20, in front of 27,000 fans at the Gaddafi Stadium, in Lahore, on Wednesday. Needing 54 runs off the last five overs, with eight wickets in hand, Pakistan again stumbled in its run-chase for the third successive time in the series and were restricted to 134-6.
Pakistan's Mohammad Amir, who grabbed four wickets in the three-match home series against Sri Lanka, grabbed a career-best seventh position after jumping six spots.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
Pakistan's seam attack dragged their side back into the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday by capturing seven wickets before lunch, bowling the hosts out for 200 on the third day. Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir shared the wickets as the hosts were bundled out with a lead of 67 runs. New Zealand had bowled Pakistan out for 133 before tea on Friday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Pakistan will be eager to raise their game.
Sohail Tanvir was on Wednesday, dropped from Pakistan's World Cup squad after being declared unfit by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali shared an unbroken partnership of 132 to lift England to 414 for five and a lead of 311 runs over Pakistan on the fourth day of the third test at Edgbaston on Saturday. Bairstow was unbeaten on 82 and Moeen 60 not out at the close with England in a good position to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series if they can bowl out the touring side on the final day.
Images from the World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan, at Birmingham, on Wednesday.
The West Indies' fast bowlers produced a ruthless display to dismiss Pakistan for a disappointing 105 in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday. In reply, Chris Gayle led the chase, scoring 50 ff 34 deliveries, as the meagre target was overhauled in 13.4 overs.
The road to the knockout stage for Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men is just an improbable mathematical calculation and that too provided Pakistan win the toss and bat first.
Pakistani pacers have managed to subdue the rival batsmen en route to the Champions Trophy final but Gautam Gambhir does not see them posing any serious threat to Indian batsmen in the title clash on Sunday.
The dastardly attack by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on a school in Peshawar claimed many precious lives, including that of innocent students whose lives were mercilessly cut short by those claiming to be fighting the righteous war.
Pakistan dominated the first day of the opening Test after bowling out England for 184 and battling to 50 for one in overcast conditions at Lord's in London on Thursday.
New Zealand, put into bat on a green wicket by Pakistan's stand-in skipper Azhar Ali, were 77 for two when the umpires ended the day's play just before 4:30 p.m. local time after light rain had forced the players off before lunch.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Day 2
A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.
Umar Akmal has been dropped from the Pakistan Twenty20 squad to face England as he is under investigation for bringing the sport into disrepute in an off-field incident, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reported on Thursday.
Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo frustrated Pakistan's bowlers with a defensive and patient batting display on a slow pitch but West Indies still trailed by 264 runs at the end of the third day of the first day-night Test in Dubai on Saturday.
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
Pak had realised in 2018 that Hurriyat Conference, the separatist conglomerate created by Inter-Services Intelligence, won't be able to deliver any more
One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
The 3,064-page chargesheet, filed in a Jammu court under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code, names self-styled commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu and his alleged network of aides.
A century opening stand between Abid Ali and Fakhar Zaman guided Pakistan to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final One-Day International in Karachi on Wednesday. The victory enabled the hosts clinch the series 2-0.
England have by far been the best team in the tournament.
Both the teams lost their opening matches but bounced back into reckoning after producing two of the tournament's biggest upsets so far.
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